"Hahahaha, sorry, sorry. I received a report from my men and thought you were a pirate. Hahaha, are you all right?"
The tall, powerfully built old man laughed heartily as he slapped Rodney on the back with his fan-sized palm.
Once, twice!
Pfft!
"Vice Admiral Garp, please stop hitting him. Mr. Joestar is coughing up blood," the Medic shouted from the side.
The Marine Hero Garp laughed awkwardly. "That won't do. How can a man's body be so frail? How is he supposed to make his way across the sea like this?"
Who could withstand your palm?!
Rodney wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His body was already considered strong—he had taken a punch from Garp and survived! He was still alive!
One had to know that this old man had once beaten Pirate King Roger until his head was covered in lumps, sending him fleeing all over the sea with nothing but his fists. Garp claimed that he had always subdued people with virtue. As a side note, his fists were called virtue!
With a lump on his head, he felt the same pain as the Sea King from earlier. Green light lit up in his palm, and he immediately applied Healing Technique to his wounds, stimulating the cells around the lump and accelerating its recovery.
"Hm? That's a rather unique ability. Are you an ability user?"
"More or less." He rubbed his head and answered vaguely.
"Hahaha, that's a pretty good ability. Can it work on other people?" Garp asked with interest.
"It can."
Garp's eyes lit up when he heard that. "Brat, what was your name again?"
"Jotaro J. Rodney."
"Haha, I'll just call you Rodney, then. Rodney, come join the Marines!"
Ding! Garp has invited you to join the Marines. Do you accept?
Yes
No
"Sorry, but I don't want to become a Marine." Rodney rejected Garp's invitation.
Garp asked in confusion, "Why not? Your ability can help many Marines recover from their injuries faster. Wouldn't it be good to contribute to justice?"
"No. The Marines are too troublesome. I think my current life is pretty good." The Marines were too complicated, and they had the World Government over their heads. As for those scum known as the Celestial Dragons, he had no intention of being ordered around by them.
Justice was being dragged down by a group of people. It was better not to join at all and avoid suffering that kind of humiliation!
"I think you're very suited to becoming an excellent Marine. Your body is just too weak. You need training. Under my guidance, you'll definitely grow." Garp laughed heartily.
"Farewell. See you!" Rodney turned and left as soon as he heard that. He wasn't Wang Luffy, with his terrifying vitality. If Garp trained him, he would die. He definitely would!
A large, callused hand grabbed his shoulder. The old man smiled kindly and said, "Brat, you'll definitely thank me later!"
"No! Somebody save me!!!"
Garp seemed determined and dragged Rodney off to train.
To Garp, Rodney's ability was very useful, and he seemed like someone with great potential. Garp wanted to see if he could get him to join the Marines. Besides, he was bored on the warship.
"Use more strength! Rodney, hold on!" Garp bit into a donut as he sat on the back of Rodney, who was doing push-ups in an Iron Suit.
This was the third day of Rodney's training under Garp. Every day, Rodney was dragged into high-intensity physical training and exhausted until he was like a dead dog. However, there were benefits as well. His body was growing at an astonishing speed.
His Chakra was also being consumed at an extremely rapid rate.
Sweat poured from his body as if he had been drenched by rain, dripping onto the deck. The Chakra in his body was constantly being squeezed dry, and his body grew heavier and heavier.
The Iron Suit weighed a full thousand pounds. With the tall and burly Garp on top of him, Rodney's Chakra might not have been enough to keep him going if his original physique had not been fairly good.
"Ah, I can't go on!"
He collapsed onto the deck. Garp asked, "How many did he do?"
The Marine soldier who had been recording the entire time said, "Four thousand three hundred and twenty. That's four hundred more than before. His physique is growing very quickly."
"That won't do! This won't do! How will he ever grow into an excellent Marine like this?" Garp shook his head.
"I never said I was going to become a Marine! I'm a bounty hunter, not a Marine! Why do I have to join the Marines?" Rodney removed the Iron Suit from his body, revealing his muscular upper body and feeling light all over.
His head suddenly hurt. Garp had trained his Armament Haki to the strongest level in the world. Even without coating his fist in Haki, his punches were incredibly painful. Even rubber-bodied Luffy, who was immune to blunt-force attacks, could feel the pain drilling into his bones.
"What are you saying? Your ability is perfect for becoming a Marine, whether as a Medic or a regular Marine. Don't waste your talent!" Garp had been watching him these past few days. At first, he had merely thought the brat's physique was too weak, so he planned to train him properly as compensation for accidentally injuring him. But Rodney's Healing Technique and astonishing growth rate had awakened Garp's desire to nurture a talent.
However, this brat seemed as stubborn as his own grandson, clinging to the idea of being a bounty hunter.
"What's so good about being a bounty hunter? Have you let money corrupt your heart?"
"Of course! Old man, money isn't everything, but you can't do anything without it!"
"Vulgar! You get paid for being a Marine too."
"Forget it. Taking down one pirate on a wanted poster gives me enough to eat for a long time."
"The Marines provide food and housing, as well as benefits."
"Sorry, but I make the Four Seas my home and fear no hardship. Ow, old man, you hit me again?!"
"I think you need some education." Garp's fists cracked menacingly.
"Re-education?"
"Special Education!"
"Why? I haven't done anything wrong!" Rodney said, craning his neck defiantly.
"You dare talk back? Take this!"
Crackling and popping!
On the deck, Garp chased Rodney up and down while Rodney showed no sign of being worn out from his training.
Bang!
One punch smashed Rodney into the deck, drawing the Shipwright's ire. "That's a huge hole! It'll be a pain to repair!"
"Hahahaha, Rodney, looks like these past few days of training have let you take one of my punches." That punch had been nowhere near Garp's full strength. If he had used his full power, Rodney would have been finished.
That counted as... a normal attack, right? Probably. Maybe even his normal attacks were too much.
"Hmph, old man, even if I die and lie in a coffin, I'll use my decaying vocal cords to shout, 'I will never become a Marine!!'" Rodney climbed to his feet, his face swollen and bruised.
"Brat, do you really like money that much?"
"Of course! I'm a bounty hunter. I travel across the sea for money!" Rodney said as he healed his injuries.
"Then I'll hire you to capture someone for me."
"Fine. In exchange, I want the method of cultivating Armament Haki or the Marine Six Styles."
"You really have the nerve to make such an outrageous demand." Garp rolled up his sleeves, his knotted, muscular arm radiating an especially terrifying aura.
"Of course. Whoever you want me to capture definitely won't be easy to deal with, so my requested payment isn't excessive." Rodney revealed a foxlike smile.
Garp laughed and cursed, "You're quite the sly one. Your body isn't capable of learning Haki yet. As for the Six Styles, I can give you one style first. After you capture the person, I'll give you two more."
"Certainly. Who do you want captured?"
"My grandson, Ace."
"Who? Your grandson? Where is he now?" Rodney had never expected Garp to ask him to capture Ace. Hadn't his grandson already gone out to sea?
"That brat set sail three months ago and actually became a pirate instead of joining the Marines. It's enough to infuriate me. He should be nearly at Reverse Mountain by now. Brat, I hope you can help me bring my adorable grandson back."
Garp understood that with Ace's ability, he would definitely make a name for himself on the sea. Once he reached a certain level, it would be easy for the World Government to take notice of him. With those ubiquitous CP agents, once Ace's identity as the Pirate King's son was discovered, he would have no chance of surviving.
The World Government would never allow the Sinful Bloodline to live on in this world.
Ace absolutely could not be allowed to be investigated by the World Government. But Garp did not want to obstruct his grandson's dream. If he captured Ace himself, he would definitely go easy on him, so he would leave it to this brat instead.
Garp's men had brought him Rodney's information. He always captured pirates along with their ships and showed no mercy to pirates, while treating ordinary people gently. He was a man with a sense of justice—he had simply fallen into the eyes of money.
It was a shame for a man like this not to become a Marine!
Before you continue